Page 80 of Renegade Queen

Clearly, the intention was that we were hitching a ride out of here, but the things standing in front of us were nothing I’d ever seen before, and I was having a hard time figuring out what to do.

They resembled wolves but were the size of a small horse, and instead of fur coating their bodies, they were covered in leaves, grass and small flowers. Their tails swept down in a cascade of flowering vines, and they were possibly the strangest and yet most beautiful creatures I’d ever seen.

Alyssa stepped in front of the nearest wildling, bowing down in greeting. “Thank you for agreeing to help us,” she told it as the creature gracefully bowed back to her and then turned, crouching down so she could climb on its back.

I looked over at Tank, who was curiously examining Alyssa as closely as he could, his gaze running over her form as he looked for injuries. He didn’t say a word, but the furrow of his brow screamed how worried he was about the situation he’d found here.

How must we look?

Broken.

That seemed like an appropriate word.

Fractured.

Dean and I copied Alyssa’s move and clambered aboard the wildlings. My hand clutched at the long leaves that formed a mane running down the creature’s neck.

It was only then that I realised Ryder was standing staring into the crevice in the cliff face. The tension in his body screamed of his grief. I couldn’t decide if it would be better to give him the hope that Damon could have survived or tell him now that he’d betrayed us and joined forces with the man who wanted Alyssa dead.

My gaze slid to her at the thought. She hadn’t said a word about what had happened yet. What must she be thinking? It was a betrayal, even if it wasn’t us that had perpetrated it. Would she ever trust us again?

Just how much was I going to lose today?

“Ryder,” Alyssa said softly. “We need to leave now while we still have the chance.”

“He can’t be gone,” Ryder mumbled, stepping closer to the crevice as if something was drawing him inside. “We didn’t come all this way to lose him now. This… this isn’t right.”

He swung to look at me then, and I got my first look at the tears that streamed down his face. He slowly shook his head from side to side in denial.

And for once in my life, when it came to my brothers, I didn’t know what to do.

Telling Ryder there was a chance would send him tearing into the palace; I could already see it in his eyes. We’d barely made it out; going in again would be madness.

In the end, it was Dean slumping forward with a grunt that had him moving away from the cliff face.

“How bad is it?” he asked, all business again as he sank into his usual medic role for the group.

“I can make it another few hours before you patch me up.” Dean grimaced as he spoke, and I knew it was a lie. It was his way of getting Ryder moving by leaning on his need to help.

And thankfully, it worked.

Ryder swung himself back up onto his wildling, leaning forward to whisper something into the creature’s ear, and suddenly, we were all moving.

Hanging on for dear life, I had to take a moment to get used to the speed these things could travel at. Risking falling off, I took the chance to glance back at the palace. There were no guards in sight at the moment, and we at least seemed to be putting some distance in between us and whoever would be coming after us.

Damon.

It felt so wrong to leave him behind, but what choice did we have.

I never thought I’d be standing on opposite sides to my brother, and yet here we were. But why would Damon pick Arik’s side of all places to make a stand? It was so unlike him. He was never a man that lusted after power; family meant everything to him.

And remembering that version of the brother who essentially raised me gave me the hope I needed.

There had to be an explanation. And until I knew it, I had to have faith that Damon wasn’t completely lost to us.

Chapter 34

Tank